Regulus Black

Regulus Black is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling.

He has never appeared in the books, but he has been mentioned by his older brother Sirius Black.

Role in the books

According to the Black family tree, Regulus was born to Orion and Walburga Black in 1961 and died in 1979. However, internal evidence in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix indicates that he in fact died in 1980, "some fifteen years previously" as seen from the perspective of August 1995.

Most other information on Regulus's life was provided by his brother Sirius in the novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Sirius described him as his parents' favorite son because he accepted their ideas about blood purity. Regulus joined the Death Eaters but attempted to flee the organization when he became scared and had a change of heart. He was killed by Voldemort, or on Voldemort's orders, after a few days on the run. Sirius suggested the latter was more likely as he would not have been important enough to be killed by Voldemort himself.

The author of the novels, J. K. Rowling, has stated that Regulus is dead, but did not comment on the nature of his demise. She also remarked in an interview : "Regulus got in a little too deep. Like Draco, he was attracted to it. But the reality of what it meant was way too much to handle."

Hypothesis of Regulus as R.A.B.

Main article: R.A.B.

Near the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore and Harry attempt to recover a locket believed to be a Horcrux created by Voldemort. Instead, they find a different locket containing a message signed with the initials R.A.B.. Fans immediately speculated that RAB stood for Regulus Black. Rowling was asked this on publication day of Half-Blood Prince and whilst neither confirming nor denying the suggestion, she called it "a fine guess".

Foreign editions of the books consistently translate the final initial of "R.A.B." to agree with the first letter of the Black surname. (For example, the Dutch translation has Sirius's last name as "Zwarts", while "R.A.B." is translated as "R.A.Z.". It is likewise with the Norwegian translation, Sirus's last name is "Svaart" and the initials are then "R.A.S.")

From the books, it is not known whether Regulus has a middle name. The Harry Potter Lexicon fan website claimed in August 2005 to have been informed by a "reliable source" that Regulus's middle name was Arcturus. The Lexicon later withdrew this statement without explanation, but Steve Vander Ark, the editor that originally made the claim, stated that he stands behind the information. In the fifth film adaptation, Sirius shows Harry the room in which the Black family tree is portrayed. The name Arcturus can be glimpsed in the background. Apparently, the entire Black family tree was faxed to David Yates by JKR, so it can be considered as canon.

Meaning of Regulus Black's name

As with his brother Sirius and other members of the Black family, Regulus's given name is the name of a star. Indeed, Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo, and one of the brightest objects in the nighttime sky.

In Latin, Regulus translates literally as 'little king'. It can refer to a petty king, or a prince. It is also the name of a Roman martyr and the Latin name for a basilisk. For other uses of the word, see Regulus (disambiguation).